HIGHER CIGARETTE TAXES
Survey Says 60 Percent Would Favor Conditional Cigarette Tax Hike
Reported by: Associated Press
Web Producer: Jeff Morris
Reported: Feb. 25, 2013 9:53 AM EST
Eyewitness News Photo
Charleston
, Kanawha County
, West Virginia
A survey of West Virginia adults shows 60 percent would favor higher cigarette taxes if the revenue would benefit public health.
Forty-three percent back an increase of $2 per pack or more.
The 2012 survey of 2,132 smokers and non-smokers was recently released by researchers at West Virginia University's School of Public Health.
The Adult Tobacco Survey asked whether people favored a conditional increase and how much.
The state's current tax is just 55 cents -- the 44th-lowest in the U.S.
Only North Carolina, North Dakota, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Virginia and Missouri have lower taxes.
In 2011, a bill to raise West Virginia's tax by $1 died.
Investigator Valerie Frey McClung said higher prices deter young people from using tobacco and encourage adults to cut back or stop.
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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